


Birthdays

by chartreuseblueandyellow



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: And no one told us??!??, F/M, How dare they!, Liz and Ressler celebrated her birthday at wing yees??, OBVIOUSLY I had to correct this situation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28950351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chartreuseblueandyellow/pseuds/chartreuseblueandyellow
Summary: How Keenler celebrated Liz’s birthday with Wing Yees through the seasons
Relationships: Elizabeth Keen/Donald Ressler
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	1. Season 2

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline is ALL OVER place for this fic. Basically I’ve used a season as a year and made the date change each time so I can reference whatever it is that I want from that season.  
> Yup, I know. Completely inaccurate, but this is fanfic, so basically I can do whatever I want. 
> 
> Anyways, let me know what you all think, enjoy :)

Ressler had been quite confused when he’d called Wing Yees to send a bottle of wine, sure that they’d gotten something wrong on their end.  
But they hadn’t been wrong, and after hanging up, Ressler supposed that after everything that had happened today, this year, and just since she’d joined the task force, that she just wasn’t up for it.  
But he wasn’t going to let that happen.  
She was his partner and, especially on her birthday, she deserved better.  
Though he had a feeling that the only way she’d agree is if he gave her no choice.

And so, a few hours later after everyone had left, he walked into their office with a box of takeout from Wing Yees.  
He knew that he’d made the right choice when she was sitting there alone, seeming reflective, and it was confirmed after her explanation about how she felt and why she thought she didn’t deserve a celebration.  
And so when she said that she didn’t even know what she was doing here, he said, “what you’re doing here, is celebrating your birthday, with me.”

Her eyes lit up as he took the lid off the box.  
“What did you do?”

Grinning that he was able to transform her from her somber mood, he explained, “see, I called the restaurant. I thought I'd send you and your friends a bottle of wine. Turns out, there wasn't a reservation, so I figured since you weren't going to Wing Yee, I was bringing Wing Yee to you.”

He couldn’t help the feeling in his chest at seeing how warmly she was smiling at him. Feelings, ones he wasn’t quite ready to put a name to yet, were bubbling up. But he just wanted to enjoy this moment with her and give her a celebration she deserved so he pushed them back down. 

He turned around with the cartons of food and grinned when he saw her with a bottle of wine.  
“Oh look at you!”

She smiled softly at him.  
“I’ve been saving this for a special occasion.”

“Well,” he grabbed two paper cups, “I’m honoured.”  
And he really was. They cheersed to her and they both drank it.  
Ressler forced himself not to show his emotions.  
While the wine wasn’t horrendous, it certainly wasn’t great. 

Keen studied his expression then laughed.  
“It’s okay Ressler, you can admit it’s not great, I personally think it tastes quite bad.”

He chuckled, glad she was the one to say it and not him.  
“So what makes it so special then?”

He raised an eyebrow as she pulled out yet another bottle of wine from her desk, where was she getting all this from?, but she only said, “the wine is special because Sam and I grew grapes in our back yard and made it into wine,” and chuckling, she added, “I completely forgot about it until today, when Red somehow brought it to me as a gift.”

Ressler chuckled. _Of course_ Reddington somehow found the long forgotten wine, but realising the importance of it, said, “you didn’t have to share it with me Keen, it seems like it’s quite meaningful to you,” and with a chuckle, added, “even if it doesn’t taste too great.”

She laughed, then shrugged, saying, “well I wanted to, besides, wine is always best shared.”

He smiled, and they cheersed and drank the new one.  
Now _this_ one was nice. And tasted quite expensive.  
“Where’s this one from?”

After finishing her bite of food, she explained, “Red brought me the childhood wine, but admitted that it probably wouldn’t be too good so got me this one as well.”

Ressler muttered on his breath.  
“Remind me to get on his good side so I can also have an endless supply of good alcohol.”

She laughed and shook her head, and they finished all the food, talking and laughing with light hearted conversation. Neither of them mentioning work.  
After they finished up, Ressler grinned.  
“I have one more thing for you."

Her eyes widened, but she looked excited.  
"Wait, really?"

He smiled and nodded.  
"Wait right here, I'll be back in a sec."  
She nodded, and Ressler smiled at the intrigue on her face as he left the room, heading for the kitchen. 

Earlier today he'd snuck away two of Aram's cupcakes, planning on sharing it with Keen before she left for her birthday dinner, but now was the perfect time for them. He also found the candles he’d brought, put it in one of the cupcakes, and lit it.  
As he walked back, making sure the flame didn’t go out, he realised that this may be a lot for a partner he’d only be with for two years, but the situation definitely wasn’t normal.  
Keen had been through a whole lot of shit in the past two years, and that was putting it mildly, so she deserved a small moment of happiness. 

He opened the door to the office and Keen gasped quietly, a hand covering her mouth, and her eyes lighting up in warm surprise.  
"You didn't."

He grinned at her reaction.  
"Well it wouldn't be a birthday without cake and candles wouldn't it?"

The way she was looking at him, surprise, shock and warmth all at once, was making those unnamed feelings rise in him again but he forced them down yet again, and ignoring them, put the cupcake with the candle in it in front of her.  
She gave him a teasing grin.  
“You’re not going to sing me happy birthday?”

He immediately shook his head.  
“I'm a horrible singer, please don't ask me to prove it to you, I don't want us in the hospital with hearing problems after such a nice dinner.”

She laughed and shook her head at his theatrics, and smiling, he said, “make a wish and blow out the candle.”  
She raised an eyebrow, as if asking _really?_ but when he only raised his eyebrows in return she sighed, closed her eyes for a few moments, then blew out the flame. 

She took out the candle, and holding up his own cupcake, he said, “cheers!”  
Keen rolled her eyes but cheersed her cupcake against his anyway and he grinned.  
They both savoured the cupcake while drinking the fancier wine.  
If only for tonight, they weren't FBI partners, but just friends celebrating a birthday and relaxing and enjoying each other's company. And as her face lit up, the both of them laughing at the stories of her teenage years, Ressler thought that it'd be nice to do this every year.


	2. Season 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, but I think it’s what season 3 calls for.  
> Once again, I know I’m changing Liz’s birthday every chapter, but I wanted her to be on the run, so sue me.
> 
> Always love hearing what you guys think, let me know.  
> Enjoy :)

In the silence of his apartment, Ressler sighed to himself.  
It was Keen's birthday, but the thoughts he'd had last year of sharing Wing Yees with her were gone from his mind, because, of course, she was on the run. 

Keen was a fugitive. 

And he'd spent the whole day trying to find her, all the while pushing down the feeling that they should be trying to _help_ her rather than hunt her down.  
Whatever… feelings… he may or may not have for Keen, she was his partner goddamnit, and trying to capture her like any other common criminal was not only physically exhausting, but mentally as well. 

And though it was the evening and he should be taking a mental break from work, he found that he just _couldn't_ do that, especially because it was her birthday.  
What would they have been doing if she were here?  
Would they have been eating Wing Yees?

Ressler suddenly shook his head and thought, _what the hell._  
Sure it was Keen's birthday, but he decided to give himself the gift of, for just this evening, not worrying about having to catch her.  
And chuckling to himself, he knew the best way to do that.

Calling up Wing Yees, Ressler ordered dinner and used the waiting time to clean his apartment, something he'd neglected for a while. The doorbell rang, and he paid and thanked the delivery man.  
He laughed to himself as he opened up the containers, he couldn't quite believe how sentimental he was being, but given that he was alone in his apartment, he allowed himself the moment. 

Ressler sat in his apartment, eating Keen's favourite takeout, watching reruns of Indiana Jones on tv, allowing himself a small moment of calm on Keen's birthday.  
And sure, tomorrow he’d go back into the role of Special Agent Donald Ressler on the hunt for his partner turned fugitive, but for now, he’d enjoy the evening off, celebrating Keen’s birthday by himself.


	3. Season 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late, I got distracted by other fics.  
> Please don’t pay too much attention to the timeline, tbh, I’m not quite sure of it myself.  
> As always, let me know what you guys think, enjoy :)

It was Keen’s birthday, and from everything he’d seen, she was planning on spending it alone, with her daughter. Given that Agnes was under a year old and couldn’t talk, he supposed that she didn’t make for much of an interesting company.  
Red had mentioned that Tom was away again, what for, Ressler didn’t know. What he _did_ know was that it was pretty rude to leave Keen to celebrate her birthday by herself, especially when the only company she had these days was a newborn baby. 

And so, because he knew Tom was away, Ressler stood at Keen’s doorstep, wing yees in hand. He would _never_ act on any feeling he had (though he still refused to name them to himself), but it would just feel weird having this moment with Tom there. 

With his free hand, he knocked on the door, and sudden doubt hit him. He’d thought it a great idea at the time, but now that he was here waiting for her to answer the door, he thought, would she even _want_ him here?  
They’d only celebrated her birthday once, and with a newborn, he didn’t even know if she wanted company.  
It was too late to back out now and a few seconds later, a harried looking Keen opened the door, a fussy baby in her arms.  
She looked surprised to see him.

A bit unsure of himself, Ressler said, “I’m sure you don’t want a big celebration for your birthday this year, but I thought that this -” he held up the bag, “might be welcomed,” and not wanting her to feel like she had to say yes, he hurriedly added, “but if you’re not up for it, you can just keep the wing yees.”

Keen stared at him in surprised silence, making him nervous, then, even though Agnes was still fussing in her arms, her eyes softened and a hint of a smile appeared on her face.  
“That sounds pretty good,” and opening the door wider so he could step in, she added, “but I just have to settle down Agnes first.”

“Of course.”

Ressler shut the door behind him, locking it, and talking loud enough so that his voice reached her in the kitchen, he said, “I don’t want to be a typical overprotective guy, I know you can take care of yourself, but if it’s just you and Agnes, should you really be answering the door?”

He heard Keen sigh as he walked towards her.  
“Reddington has men hidden at the entrance to the apartment. If they thought you were trouble, they definitely would have stopped you.”

Ressler froze in the doorway of the kitchen and mumbled to himself.  
“I _thought_ it felt like I was being watched.”

Keen chuckled, and Ressler thought it almost sounded kind of sad, and in efforts to keep her happy, especially on her birthday, he changed the subject while putting the bag of takeout onto the bench.  
“This smells even better than I remembered, I was practically drooling on my way over.”

She laughed, but whatever she’d been about to say was interrupted by a cry from Agnes and sighing, Keen picked up the bottle which had been warming and started feeding her while gently rocking her at the same time.  
Ressler felt bad, wishing he could do something to help, and also a bit angry. Where was Tom in all this? 

Keen looked up at him, whispering to not disturb a quieter Agnes too much.  
“I’m sorry Ressler. I know you probably wanted a nice birthday dinner, god knows I do too, but Agnes just needs to sleep and -”

"It's okay Keen, really."  
And seeing that she still seemed unsure, he added, “you have a newborn Keen, obviously I’m not going to get in the way of you taking care of her. I just thought you could use some dinner on your birthday, especially since I have a feeling you were just going to eat whatever you could scrounge up in your kitchen,” she shot him a slightly guilty look and he laughed.  
“Besides, I know you like Wing Yees, and I admit it was nice when we had some on that past birthday of yours,” she smiled fondly at the memory, “I was planning on doing the same last year, but...”  
He trailed off, not wanting to bring it up, but obviously she understood what he was about to say and frowned slightly, giving him an apologetic look. 

Not wanting to get the mood down, he quickly continued.  
"Well anyway, I thought you could use a little pick me up, especially on your birthday." 

She gave a small smile and spoke quietly to not disturb Agnes too much.  
“Okay, seems you won’t take no for an answer.”  
Her tone was happy and light and he smiled.  
She continued.  
“It really means a lot Resser. In fact, I was actually thinking about the wine and wing yees we had.”

“Really?”

She smiled.  
“Yeah. I thought it’d be nice but knew it wouldn’t happen. Should’ve suspected you’d do something about it.”

He grinned.  
"You should've just asked. Besides, I’m your partner Keen, I’ve got your back.”

She smiled at him, then looked down at Agnes who seemed to have fallen asleep. Looking back up at him, she said, “okay, I’m just going to freshen up a bit before we eat. Not only do I feel grimy, I know I look it too.”

He chuckled.  
"It's just takeaway Keen, no reason to get dolled up. Besides, it's just us and you’re fine just as you are." 

She laughed.  
"I appreciate your sentiments, but considering I _do_ feel quite grimy and I know that there's someone watching over Agnes, I'm going to take full advantage and give myself a minute to freshen up." 

He chuckled, seeing her point, and smiling, she continued.  
"She's mostly asleep, but still needs to be rocked a bit so she's completely knocked out for the night."  
He nodded, that made sense, and hesitancy coming through in her tone, she asked, "can you hold her for a bit."

He froze.  
“Uh…”  
He’d thought that she’d meant that she would put Agnes in a cot and he’d keep an eye on her. He didn’t even know _how_ to properly hold a baby. 

She chuckled lightly at his hesitancy.  
“It’s just for a minute or so, but if you’re not comfortable, it’s okay.”

Ressler was quite touched that she trusted him enough to hold her baby, especially when _he_ didn’t trust himself, but he masked his emotion and grumbled, “only for you Keen.”  
She beamed at him, but he quickly added, “but you’re going to have to show me how to hold her properly.”

Keen nodded, the warmth still in her eyes, and stood close to him. She carefully put the not fully asleep Agnes against his chest with her head on his shoulder, and he carefully held one hand securely around her. Amazed at how incredibly light she was, Ressler couldn’t help but blurt out, “she’s so tiny.”

Laughter dancing in her eyes, Keen said, “well she _is_ a baby, and babies _do_ tend to be quite small.”

He huffed at her amusement and instead asked, “what do I do with my other hand?”

“You can just keep it flat against her back. It reassures her and you can also gently pat her to sleep.”  
He did exactly as she said, making sure to be extremely gentle with this tiny child, and Keen stood back and looked at him with a smile.  
“You seem to be doing just fine.”

Ressler returned the smile when a sudden thought flashed through his mind.  
_Could he have had this with Audrey?_  
He immediately pushed it out, not ready to drown himself into that pool of pain and regret, and instead joked, “I’m slightly scared of moving with her, so I think I’m just going to stay frozen until you get back.”

She laughed.  
“Babies _like_ it when you move, you know.”

“I’ll take it under advisement.”  
She laughed again, and apparently happy with what he was doing, left the room.  
Ressler slowly started pacing the room, surprised as he automatically started swaying softly while patting Agnes gently on the back. Clearly she did like the movement because he could feel her small body relax against him, and a sudden warm feeling spread through his chest.  
Thoughts of Aubrey were pushing at the edges of his mind but he absolutely refused to acknowledge them right now and instead focused on Agnes. 

True to her word, Keen walked out of her room a minute or so later, a new top, hair tied up nicely, and a huge smile on her face as she saw him carefully pacing the room with Agnes on his shoulder.  
"Well, for someone with no experience holding a baby, Agnes seems to be quite comfortable."

He quietly chuckled and spoke softly.  
"Trust me, the person who's most surprised by that is me."

She grinned, and walking closer, she whispered, "here, let me take her."

He nodded, but when Keen tried to take Agnes, she started crying. They looked at each other with mild surprise, and hesitantly, he said, “I can uh, keep holding her, if you want.”

She looked slightly hesitant, as if she didn’t want to burden him with it.  
“If you’re sure…”

Ressler was slightly surprised himself that he wanted to keep holding Agnes, and so trying to reassure Keen that he really didn’t mind, he smirked.  
“Clearly Agnes here knows that I can keep rocking her while her cot can’t, and I applaud that reasoning.”

Keen rolled her eyes but laughed, then said, "if you're sure you don't mind," he nodded, "then I'm going to get out the food because I'm _hungry_."

He laughed, knowing that she had probably spent all her focus on making sure Agnes was okay, that she hadn't considered the fact that she was hungry till now. And to think she was nervous she wouldn't make a good mother before Agnes was born.  
"Of course, go ahead and eat." 

Rummaging through the bags, she placed all the take out containers on the bench, then studied the bottle he'd brought as well.  
He cleared his throat and whispered so he didn't disturb Agnes.  
"That's a nice flavored sparkling water thing that I like. I uh, I wasn't too sure if you were drinking at the moment so I thought it best."

Keen started at him, then the bottle, and him again, seemingly taken aback by the thought he'd put into it.  
"No, I'm not drinking right now. This… this means a lot, thank you Ressler."

He cleared his throat, not quite sure how to react to her deep gratitude. It was what any friend would have done, he obviously didn’t want to bring wine if she wasn’t going to drink it.  
He shrugged.  
“It’s nothing fancy Keen, anyone would consider that a new mother wouldn't be drinking.”  
The same look was still on her face and he decided that she was putting too much into his action, but at the same time, he felt quite pleased that this small action meant so much to her.

“I guess… but still, thanks a lot.”

His voice came out slightly gruff.  
"Of course."

She gave him a small but meaningful smile, then reached out and grabbed a small food container, different from the take out boxes.  
Before she could open it, he whispered in a rush, "don't open it!" and when she looked at him with an eyebrow raised, he added, "it's a surprise, just put it in the fridge for now," and as she walked towards the fridge with it, he called out after, “and no peeking!”

She laughed but followed his instructions, and when she came back asked, "should I try put her in the cot again?" 

He thought about it, but then shook his head.  
"I actually don't mind, besides, it's actually kind of… nice… just holding her." 

Keen looked surprised but then beamed at him, warmth lighting up her eyes, and she spoke in a teasing tone.  
"I promise not to tell anyone in the office that our cold, hard, Special Agent Donald Ressler is actually just a huge softie at heart."

With a playful growl, he replied, "I'll arrest you if you do."

Ressler has said that impulsively as a joke, but he suddenly worried that she’d take it the wrong way after everything that had happened last year, but he smiled when she only laughed. He added, "besides, I'm sure I can eat with one hand."  
She smiled warmly at him and he carefully sat down, feeling quite proud of himself when Agnes continued sleeping, and he took the plate that Keen had made for him. 

They finished the food with conversations in whispers, so as to not wake Agnes. Like the last birthday dinner, work wasn’t mentioned, and he laughed and enjoyed every story Keen told him about all of Agnes’ firsts.  
The younger Keen stayed asleep against him the entire time, and he had to admit to himself that the feeling of her breathing gently against him was warm and… comforting.  
Images of what could've been if Audrey hadn't died flooded his mind and it instantly brought up all the grief, pain and regret he'd felt then. He couldn’t push it away this time.  
Making sure it didn't show in his expression or tone, he said, "can you take Agnes? I want to go get that surprise from the fridge." 

Keen nodded and gently took Agnes from his arms, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she kept sleeping.  
"While you get that surprise, I'll go put Agnes in the cot."

He smiled and nodded, and as he walked to the kitchen, he let out a breath. He hadn't expected all that emotion to rush at him, it was a lot to deal with.  
Taking the box out of the fridge and lighting the candle he'd placed in it beforehand, he forced himself to push it away. Today was about Keen and he didn't want to burden her with any of this. Besides, he hadn't told her about Audrey's pregnancy test. Maybe he would someday, but for now, he thought it best not to tell. 

Keen walked back into the room, a monitor in hand, and she smiled as she saw the candle on the large slice of cake.  
“I should’ve known.”  
He only grinned as put it onto the coffee table and she looked up at him with a teasing grin.  
“Your singing improved at all since last time?”

He laughed as he sat down, shaking his head.  
"If anything, it's gotten worse."  
She laughed, and smiling, he said, "make a wish and blow out the candle."

She stared at him, as if saying _this again?_ but when he only stared back, she sighed, and after closing her eyes, blew it out.  
They both dug in, and she laughed as he told her about the time baby Ressler accidentally smacked his brother's birthday cake before anyone could eat it and the drama that it had caused. 

Much too soon, the cake was gone, and after helping clean up a bit, he headed for the door, ready to leave. He turned around to say goodbye, but was surprised by Keen pulling him in for a quick hug. Usually he wasn't a hugger, but he was more than happy to return it, and after a second she pulled away, her expression making it seem like she was also surprised by her sudden burst of affection.  
Blinking a few times, she said, "thanks for today, and for… everything."

Ressler gently smiled at her.  
"Of course, what are partners for?"  
She smiled at him, and softly, he added, "happy birthday Keen." 

Her expression somehow growing even softer, Keen smiled at him again, and nodding, he walked away, happy he could bring some joy to Keen on her birthday.


	4. Season 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To try and remedy the fact that we’ve had no Ressler and Agnes interaction on screen, I’ve included a lot of it here, even though it may not be accurate according to the show.

It was Keen’s birthday and though Ressler was outside her door, wing yees in hand, he wasn’t too sure how the night would go.  
Since she had come back from the woods, she’d been quite...cold. And he knew she tried to hide it, especially from him, but it wasn’t hard for him to see that her personality had shifted, and not necessarily for the better.   
But Ressler didn’t blame her.   
After almost dying, being in a coma for almost a year, finding out her husband was killed, and having to give up her child because she knew she wasn’t safe with her, Ressler would’ve been surprised if she _hadn’t_ changed for the worse.

Saying that though, he knew Liz had Agnes for tonight to celebrate her birthday, but tomorrow she’d be going back to Scottie’s. During the time Liz had been in a coma, he’d visited her a few times, but it had just caused him too much pain seeing her practically lifeless on the bed, so quite often, he’d go and visit Agnes, taking out time to play with her, and by the end Scottie had grown quite used to him.  
He hadn’t seen the younger Keen much recently though, so he was happy about that. 

The door opened and Liz greeted him with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as it normally would’ve.  
“Hey, thanks for coming.”

He nodded and walked in, knowing it was unfair to expect her to be joyous given everything that had happened to her. She closed the door behind him and he walked to the kitchen, placing the bags onto the counter as an excited squeal sounded and he turned around.   
Ressler couldn’t help but smile as Agnes took slightly wobbly but sure steps towards him, yelling, “Wess!” as she wrapped her arms around his leg.  
Grinning, he picked her up, and smiled even more when she squealed with laughter as he threw her up then caught her again. 

Spinning her around, he saw Liz staring at them with amazement, and he suddenly felt slightly nervous as he realised he hadn’t mentioned his visits to Agnes.   
In an effort to explain this sudden bond he had with her daughter, he said, “when you were uh… when you were in that coma, it was just… too much… seeing you like that, and so I spent a lot of time with Agnes, knowing that if I couldn’t help you, maybe I was of some use to the other Keen girl.”

Liz kept staring at him, and clearing his throat, he continued after ticking the giggling Agnes in his arms.  
“I thought Ressler might be too long, so I went with Ress, and I guess _Wess_ is just the way she says it.”  
Another reason he’d gone with Ress, was that Liz sometimes called him that, and she was the only one who did, and he’d never admit how much he liked that the Keen girls had a special nickname for him. 

After blinking what looked like a few tears out of her eyes, Liz slowly asked, “why didn’t you say anything about it before?”

He shrugged, making a face at Agnes before answering.  
“It's not that big of a deal. You’re my partner, and it just made sense to spend time with Agnes while you… while you couldn’t. Besides, it’s not like we’ve had a lot of time to chat after you woke up.”  
He hadn’t meant to bring up the fact that she’d practically gone to hiding in the woods, he got why she did, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt slightly that she hadn’t even tried to reach out to him. 

She looked guiltily at him, and he understood from her expression that while she hadn’t regretted her actions, she _had_ regretted how he must’ve felt about it. Moving closer and putting a soft hand on his arm, she said, “I'm glad you did Ress, I feel much better knowing that Agnes had you looking after her.”

He smiled at the sincerity in her tone, and after playing a bit with Agnes who was in his arms, Liz started unpacking the bags, and after taking all the takeout, she picked up a different container and looked at him with a hint of a smile.  
“You’re not going to yell at me not to peek at this one?”

Tickling Agnes’ side, he grinned.  
“You’re a pretty good investigator, I’m sure you’ve already figured out it’s cake.”  
She laughed but didn’t open it, instead putting it onto the fridge. 

They moved to the couch and coffee table to eat, Agnes happily walking between them, taking turns to get small bites from Liz and then from him. Conversation, as always, was light, and Liz updated him on Agnes and he even shared stories of the younger Keen from the time he’d spent with her.   
Throughout the whole evening so far, Ressler could tell that she was acting happier than she actually was for Agnes’ sake, but he could feel the underlying hardness and anger in her which was new.   
But if she was making an effort to be happy, he would do the same and not say anything about it. 

They finished up their food, and as Liz was feeding Agnes her last bite, Ressler walked to the fridge, took out the cake and lit the candle, and walked back.   
Though she was much more reserved than usual, genuine laughter lit up Liz’s eyes as she raised an eyebrow at him, and ignoring the happiness he felt at being able to get that reaction from her, he gave a fake sigh of annoyance.  
“No Liz, I still haven’t learnt how to sing, please don’t ask.”  
She chuckled, and smiling, he added, “you know the drill, make a wish.”

She rolled her eyes but did so without complaint. Instead of blowing the candle out herself, she enlisted the help of Agnes who took the job very seriously, her eyes furrowing slightly as she tried to blow it out.   
From behind her daughter, Liz looked on with a soft smile on her face, and deciding that this moment was too cute, Ressler took out his phone and took a quick photo.   
Deciding to help her out a bit, Liz blew out the candle from behind Agnes and they both laughed at the excitement of Agnes’ face when she thought she succeeded. 

They ate the cake, Agnes coming up to the both of them for occasional small bites and he laughed at the young girl dancing around the room.   
Liz looked at her daughter with a shake of her head, but a soft smile was on her face.  
“I don’t know if cake before bed is a good idea.”

Ressler knocked his knee against hers.  
“It’s your birthday Liz, I think she’s allowed to celebrate a little.”

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.  
“That’s all fine and good for now, but maybe I should call you later tonight to deal with Agnes when she doesn’t want to sleep because she’s on a sugar high.”

Ressler chuckled.  
“Fair point.”  
They lounged on the couch as they finished off the cake, giving Agnes no more even though she wanted some, and after helping Liz clean up a bit, he was ready to leave.   
Seeing him by the door, Agnes walked over with her arms up.  
“Wess, Wess, bye bye!”

Laughing, he picked her up and tickling her side said, “bye bye Agnes,” and with a grin at Liz added, “try not to give your mother too much trouble huh?”  
Liz grinned, and after hugging Agnes, he passed her over, and with Agnes in arm, she pulled him into a quick hug.

As she let go of him she spoke with a genuine smile.  
“Thanks for this Ress, I uh… I really needed it this year.”

He grinned back.  
“Of course Liz, I love these birthdays just as much as you do.”

Both the Keen girls smiled happily at him, and with a final goodbye to them both, he left.


End file.
